Koufos might not dominate the weeklong Rocky Mountain Revue, O'Connor said, but the Jazz's first-round draft pick from Ohio State would not be outworked.

"Our coaches . . . are pretty happy with how hard he plays," O'Connor said. "Now, how well he plays tonight, that might be a different story. But he always seems willing to compete."

In the Jazz's first game of the Revue - a lopsided 82-57 loss to San Antonio - Koufos might have been willing. But he wasn't able to do much, thanks mostly to early foul trouble that limited him to four minutes of playing time in the first half and only 14 for the game.

"He got into foul trouble and he pouted a little bit," said Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin. " . . . He wanted be out on the floor.

"He wanted to score. He wanted to get his points. But he's got to let the game come to him and know - that if he gets in foul trouble - he can't be out there."

Koufos, the Big Ten's fifth-leading scorer and rebounder last season, admitted he must work on his defense, "but that will come. . . . I just have to play smarter. The NBA game is a lot faster" than college.

Playing alongside second-year center Kyrylo Fesenko, Koufos started well. On the Jazz's second possession, he put the ball on the floor, drew a foul and made a pair of free throws.

Moments later, Koufos missed an 18-footer and committed his second foul. He went to the bench with 6:44 left in the first quarter and Utah trailing, 11-2.

Koufos' second trip onto the court lasted 32 seconds. He reentered the game with 5:20 left in the half and immediately picked up his third foul.

"It was my first NBA game with referees," Koufos said. " I just have to go to practice tomorrow and keep working on some things."

Koufos' best moments came early in the third quarter, when he grabbed three rebounds, blocked a shot and scored the first basket of his career.

At the end of a 2-on-1 fastbreak with point guard Kevin Kruger, Koufos took a well-timed pass and made a strong finish. His basket trimmed San Antonio's lead to 44-42, but the Spurs took charge from there and coasted to victory.

"I'm still learning the system," Koufos said. "Every day I'm getting better, feeling more comfortable. You know, I just have to play hard and do my best."

Said Corbin: "He'll learn a little bit from this. It was his first time out there. It will be interesting to see how he comes back tomorrow."

Despite Koufos' abbreviated court-time in his debut, O'Connor likes the potential of the seven-footer who was the 23rd overall pick in the draft.

"Any time you get a big player with skill late in the first round, I think you're happy," O'Connor said. "You know, it was a very unusual year. There were a great number of bigger players taken in the draft. . . . From No. 11 to No. 20, there were probably seven or eight who were drafted."

Koufos was the 11th power forward or center to be selected in the draft. Only one - Michael Beasley of Kansas State - went in the top nine. But 11 of the next 14 picks were interior-type players.

luhm@sltrib.com

Jazz RMR schedule

All games at 7 p.m. at Salt Lake Community College

Today: Atlanta

Monday: Iranian national team

Tuesday: New Jersey

July 24: Atlanta

July 25: Dallas

Highlights

* George Hill, San Antonio's first-round draft pick from IUPUI, scored 21 points to lead the Spurs to an 82-57 win over the Jazz in the Rocky Mountain Revue opener for both teams.

* Jazz first-round pick Kosta Koufos, limited to 14 minutes because of foul trouble, had five points and four rebounds. Second-year center Kyrylo Fesenko went scoreless in 17 minutes and committed seven turnovers.